Electoral Act: INEC tackles NCC over results e-transmission claims

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denounced the claims that there is not enough network coverage across the country to warrant transmission of election results for the 2023 general elections.

The Director of Publicity and Voter Education of the INEC, Nick Dazang, yesterday in Abuja faulted the claim of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) official who appeared before the House of Representatives on the matter.

Speaking on the African

Independent Television (AIT) Breakfast programme, Kakaaki, Dazang said the commission was traumatised that a sister commission, which has been in the know since 2018 that INEC has the capacity and capability to transmit results electronically should come back in 2021 to attest that electronic transmission of election results is no longer possible in Nigeria.

“In January 2018, the INEC approached the NCC that it wanted a technologically-driven commission and both have been working closely to deliver free, fair and credible elections in our country for the benefit of our citizens. They are also aware that two network providers - MTN and Airtel have assisted the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to conduct their examinations across Nigeria. So, the INEC is still wondering why the NCC suddenly made a u-turn that there is not enough network coverage in every part of Nigeria,” Dazang said.

He, however, said the NCC was on its own as the INEC had gone beyond rhetorics to try the new innovation designed to clean up Nigeria’s electoral processes, and they worked perfectly well in the off-season governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states, as well as states and National Assembly by-elections across the country.